A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl

Locations
Call Number: Fiction / Thompson, Jean
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Thompson, Jean	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Fiction / Thompson, Jean	4-week checkout	Due 05-23-2024

"A novel about three generations of the Wise family--Evelyn, Laura, and Grace--as they hunt for contentment amid chaos of their own making. Evelyn set aside her career to marry late, and motherhood never became her. Her daughter Laura felt this acutely and wants desperately to marry, but she soon discovers her husband Gabe to be a man who expects too much of everyone in his life, especially his musician son. Grace has moved out from Laura and Gabe's house, but can't seem to live up to her potential--whatever that might be. We see these women and their trials, small and large: social slights and heartbreaks; marital disappointments and infidelities; familial dysfunction; mortality. Spanning from World War II to the present, Thompson reveals a matrilineal love story that is so perfectly grounded in our time--a story of three women regressing, stalling, and yes, evolving, over decades. One of the burning questions she asks is: by serving her family, is a woman destined to repeat the mistakes of previous generations, or can she transcend the expectations of a place, and a time? Can she truly be free? Evelyn, Laura, and Grace are the glue that binds their family together. Tethered to their small Midwestern town--by choice or chance--Jean Thompson seamlessly weaves together the stories of the Wise women with humanity and elegance, through their heartbreaks, setbacks, triumphs, and tragedies"-- Provided by publisher.
"Two-time National Book Award finalist returns to S&S with a novel in the vein of her New York Times bestselling THE YEAR WE LEFT HOME -- a moving family saga featuring three generations of women who struggle to find freedom and happiness in a small Midwestern college town"-- Provided by publisher.
Across three generations, the women of the Wise family hunt for contentment amid chaos of their own making. Evelyn set aside her career to marry, and motherhood never became her. Her daughter Laura discovers her husband Gabe expects too much of everyone in his life, especially his musician son. Grace has moved out from Laura and Gabe's house, but can't seem to live up to her potential-- whatever that might be. As their story spans from World War II to the present, tethered in their small Midwestern town, they question: is a woman destined to repeat the mistakes of previous generations, or can she transcend the expectations of a place, and a time? -- adapted from publisher info

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